[Vietnam Vet From New Mexico]

I have read about the proposed law in a couple of sources, but I've never been able to find a reference I could check. It's possible it was destroyed when Richmond was burned, or it may never have existed.

Slavery was on the decline in the civilized world. The slave owners in Britain's Caribbean plantations were not wild about the idea of emancipation either, but money has a way of changing opinions.

[Non-Sequitur]

Slavery was on the decline in the civilized world. The slave owners in Britain's Caribbean plantations were not wild about the idea of emancipation either...

Slavery ended in all cases through government intervention and always of the strong opposition of the overwhelming majority of the slave owners themselves.

..., but money has a way of changing opinions.

The value of the slaves in the south at the time of the rebellion ran upwards of $3 to $4 billion. This at a time when the federal budget was in the $60 million. There is no way that Congress would have agreed to buy out the slavers. And admittedly it would have been cheaper than the war, but I suggest that nobody forecast what the rebellion would cost.